WESTERN WASHINGTON

Summary

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360 degree views greet your eyes when you make the final ascent up Mt. Teneriffe. Most of the trail is a well maintained, converted road. You’ll rarely be alone on this hike, though there’s enough mileage to spread out the populous.

Trail Stats

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Trail Details

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While slightly less popular than nextdoor Mt. Si, Mt. Teneriffe offers similar elevation with the bonus of more mileage. Begin the trek at a nicely paved parking lot, complete with vault potties, for those who drank too much coffee the morning of.

Not to surprisingly, the trail begins in the forest. Thought there are intermittent meadows to pass through for the duration. There’s a relatively short connecting trail from this ridiculously nice parking lot to an old road that’s been converted into a trail. When you reach the road, turn left. Should you decide to turn right I believe you’ll simply find yourself further down the road you drove in on. Not particularly exciting so stick with turning left.

Somewhere after this turn, there is an offshoot trail that will take you to Teneriffe Falls, if you’d like. This is not a short diversion and will add about 4 miles total to your hike. I did hike in once with a girlfriend. It looks like a waterfall. I enjoyed time with my friend more than the waterfall. But then again, I’m still not a waterfall enthusiast.

The main trail steepens, shortly after the split. I certainly remember switchbacks, though I don’t recollect how many. After slogging ever upward there’s another split in the trail. To the left will take you to Mt Si. I’ve never used the connector trail. I’ve always headed right toward Mt. Teneriffe. It’s a few miles ahead of you.

Awhile later, you’ll ditch the road and head onto a real single track trail. It loosely follows a ridge line.

I’ve never completed this hike without passing through snow, generally quite a lot of it. I once decided to haul myself and the dog up on a random weekday I had off work. Doug was working that day. He never loves it when I venture off hiking alone. I am good, I always tell him where I’m headed. Plus, back then I had the dog. And most hikes in the area are relatively busy, even on weekdays. The joys of living near a city, there are people everywhere. You can’t escape them even if you try.

I was pretty pleased after slowly picking my way across the ridge. It was covered in snow and ice. Deep pocks marred the snow from many a person who had post holed their way in as their footing gave way through the snow’s crust. Footprints were everywhere, there was no distinct trail. Just a general knowledge to press on. I happily made it though.

My error lay in forgetting I had to return through that mess. When the dog and I headed back down I realized I was no longer heading along the ridge but distinctly headed down the ridge slope. Following that series of footprints was getting me way off course. After a moment of panic (It was just the dog and myself up there, no one else that day) I headed back uphill. Took awhile but I eventually followed a better route off the ridge. I do remember thinking how mad Doug would be if I did in fact get lost out there. I am always so adamant that I’ll be fine. For the record, the dog was no help. She happily loped along on the ice, hind legs sliding out from under her every so often. Really was a sheet of ice in places.

The last bit to the top of Mt. Teneriffe is a scramble up. Often slick in winter. However, I’ve always lucked out and found a nice dry perch on the slab of solid rock up there. The 360 degree views are splendid. On a clear day it’s possible to glimpse Mt. Baker in the distant north. Mailbox peak and Mt. Si are on either side of you. The Snoqualmie Valley stretches below. Quite breathtaking. Either that or you haven’t caught your breath from the last push up. Either way, stay awhile and enjoy your lunch. It’s a long way back down.

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